


a face you used to know (but different)

by High Femme in a Low Place (Chaimera)



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: But only a little one, Crimes in space, Domestic Violence, Friendship, Heist, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Juno has friends now, Not Beta Read, Other, that's nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 02:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18512101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaimera/pseuds/High%20Femme%20in%20a%20Low%20Place
Summary: Juno's past makes an appearance in the middle of a job.Luckily, he's part of a team now.





	a face you used to know (but different)

**Author's Note:**

> Please check the tags for warnings and let me know if you feel like there's anything that needs to be added. Most of the implied stuff is pretty mild and the violence isn't that graphic but check the end notes if you would like to skip it completely. 
> 
> I'm bad at titles and I'm sorry.

“Can you confirm the successful cloning of the key card?”

“Yeah yeah, it’s done. Have a little faith Big Guy. Contact in five seconds.”

Two steps followed by cry of surprise and the delicate chime of crystal breaking.

“Oh, my god. I am so sorry. Here let me help you.” Juno grabbed the pocket square from a nearby waiter, who looked appalled at the scene playing out before him. He set about trying to dab the growing stain on the front of the person he had just collided with.

“Really, I’m so sorry. I'm just so damn clumsy and I…”

She snatched the cloth from his hand and batted his fluttering hands away, looking down on him with disdain.

“Oh, leave it. Ugh!” She turned on her heel and moved towards the bathrooms presumably to try to mitigate the damage to her incredibly expensive looking dress.

They had already lost the attention of the surrounding crowd, with only the waiter left to glare at Juno. He shrugged in apology, adjusted his skirts and made a beeline for the bar.

As he waited for a fresh glass of champagne a plaintive sigh drifted across the remote comms link.

“I don’t suppose you might have avoided staining that dress quite so badly Juno? It was one of my favourites.”

Juno smirked, bringing his glass up to cover the movement of his lips. “Gotta sell the bit Stone. Besides, Buddy looks better in it anyway.”

A dramatic gasp followed and Juno rolled his eye, surveying the crowd as he leaned against the bar.

“A terrible slander Juno. I demand you take it back.”

He tracked Kay Stone, known to a select few as Peter Nureyev, across the room as he slipped through a service door.

A quiet laugh. “Why thank you darling. I do feel quite fetching.”

Juno grinned. “Anytime Buddy. Everything okay on your end?”

“Your clone worked like a charm. I’m in and ready to go.”

“Okay. Stone, security didn’t clock your exit so you should have a clear run to Buddy. There are five plain clothes on the main entrance and the garden access so you might want to take your alternative exit.”

Another theatrical sigh. “Oh, very well. If we absolutely must.”

“We all know you love jumping out of high windows Mistah Glass-Stone. You ain’t kidding any of us. Also Miss Buddy does look better in that dress.”

Rita chimed in and Juno could hear Vespa’s husky laugh in the background.

“This entire crew is against me.”

“That is not true Kay. You are an invaluable asset to the team. And I think you look very comely in that dress.”

Juno scowled. “Comely?”

“Thank you Jet.” Nureyev cooed.

“Can we get back to the job please?” Buddy brought the focus of the team back to the task at hand, laughter evident in her voice.

“Kay and I will take the slightly more thrilling route to the rendezvous when we're done here. Juno, any loose ends?”

“Not that I can see.”

“Well then, I believe it’s time for your socialite to take their leave.”

“Gotcha.” He drained the rest of his champagne. “Big guy?”

“I will meet you in the lobby Juno.”

Jet was currently doing the galaxy's worst bus boy impression, hulking over the serving tables near the kitchen. He did, however, blend in perfectly with the other security who were dressed as waitstaff, all doing a terrible job.

Juno moved through the crowd and to the front of the ballroom, pausing to check his purse and shawl back out. He checked his bag for the compact blaster and winked at the guard by the entrance.

“A lady can’t be too careful these days. I’m off to find a better party. Fancy joining me?”

The guard continued to stare straight ahead.

“Ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” He was affronted on behalf of his alias. “Fine.”

He huffed and whirled around stomping off in the direction of the elevators.

“Was that entirely necessary Juno?”

Juno wasn't too proud to admit that he enjoyed the hint of jealousy in Nureyev’s voice. “You’re the one who keeps telling me I need to learn how to ‘inhabit my characters’.”

Indistinct muttering was all he got in response but this time he could definitely hear Buddy laughing.

He continued down the corridor, quiet now that he was some distance from the ballroom.

He turned a corner when a hand landed on his shoulder, jerking him to a stop and pulling him around. Instinct should have had him going for his blaster but he froze. Everything froze.

“What the hell are you doing here Juno?”

They were still as gorgeous as ever. Their silver hair was pulled back into intricate braids, broad shoulders hugged by a suit ten times more expensive than they would have been able to afford back in Hyperion. Their dark eyes still promised aching tenderness and untold violence.

“Diamond.” He breathed.

In his ear, he could hear Rita say something, sounding alarmed, followed by a cacophony of voices but it was like they were underwater. His mind had narrowed the person in front of him and the building panic in the back of his throat.

Juno attempted to shrug off their grip but they dug in, fingertips sinking into muscle and pressing mercilessly against bone. Their other hand came down on his shoulder and swung him around to press him against the wall. Everything in him was screaming at him to move but he was having difficulty getting his body to cooperate.

They shook him and his teeth clacked together. “Juno I said what the fuck are you doing here?”

He shook his head, trying to clear the fog. “I don’t... I didn’t know you were here.”

They shook him again. His head knocked back against the wall. “The hell you didn't. I should have known you’d track me down and try to ruin everything. It’s what you do.”

There was a look in Diamond’s eyes that Juno didn’t recognise, even at the worst points. Juno wasn’t sure what the last fifteen years had done to their opinion of him, but he was sure it wasn’t going to end well.

“Adelaide can’t see you. What would she think if she knew I…” Their lips twisted, disgusted as their gaze traveled over Juno’s form. His skin crawled. “How the fuck did you find me anyway?”

Juno finally managed to regain some control and wrenched himself from their grip. He threw himself to the side so he was no longer trapped between them and the wall.

“I told you I didn’t. I didn’t know you were here and I sure as hell wasn’t looking for you. I’m here for a job.”

“You’re a damn liar!”

Juno wasn’t sure why he didn’t expect it but the crack of their hand across his face took him by surprise. The force of the backhand sent him stumbling sideways, his ears ringing and the taste of iron blooming on his lips.

Logically, Juno knew he could take Diamond. He was a scrappy fighter, never afraid to fight dirty, and even with one eye, he wouldn’t miss at this range. He knew he could take them but in that moment he wasn’t Juno Steel, ex-PI and current intergalactic criminal.

It was like the force of their blow had knocked him loose in time and he was six years old, huddling in a cupboard with his brother, listening to Sarah’s heavy footfalls. He was 17 and high as a damn kite, letting scumbags do whatever the hell they wanted to him in return for a score. He was 23, sitting on the kitchen floor listening to the apologies pour from Diamonds' mouth as they dabbed at the cut above his eye.

They made a move towards him as he came back to himself. Juno braced for another blow, hand inching towards his purse and the blaster.

“Look what you made me do, fucking hell. You always did this Juno! You always…”

They were cut off by a blur of movement accompanied by the familiar, lethal flash of a plasma knife, pressing them into the wall with deadly precision.

Juno scrambled off the floor to get to Peter before he gutted Diamond like a fish but someone else got there first.

Jet hauled a snarling Peter Nureyev off Diamond, wrapping his huge arms around him as Peter writhed in his grip.

“Let me go.” Despite his frantic movements, his voice was icy calm.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“This detritus, this scum cannot be allowed to…”

Diamond recovered themselves. They stood back up to their full height but before they could move a blaster was pressed against their temple.

Buddy looked them over with distaste. “I wouldn’t move if I were you. If you do I might accidentally shoot you.” She shoved the blaster against their head. “Or my associate here might lose his grip on Mr Stone which I’m afraid would be infinitely worse.”

Her eyes slid to Juno. “Are you quite alright darling?”

Now back on his own two feet, Juno felt more grounded though he still didn’t trust himself to speak. He sent a jerky nod in her direction which seemed to assure her somewhat. Peter was still struggling to break free of Jet’s embrace.

Diamond, showcasing a level of stupidity Juno didn’t recall, scoffed. “Friends of yours?”

Juno spat some blood on the floor and glanced up at them. “Yeah, I have a few of those now.”

They grinned, a cold light in their eye that made Juno uneasy. “Do they know though? Do they know what you’re really like?”

“Diamond…”

“Oh, they don’t do they. They don’t know what kind of filthy who…”

Several things happened at once.

A feral noise ripped from Peters’ throat as he broke free of Jet’s grip, lunging at Diamond.

Juno tripped forward, hoping to stop Peter from committing murder on his behalf. He wrapped a hand around his arm, using Peter’s momentum to swing him towards him.

The butt of Buddy’s blaster came down with sickening crack against Diamond’s temple. They collapsed, dropping to the floor like a sack of bricks. Buddy stared down at them. “That’s enough out of you, I think.”

Jet stepped up beside her and prodded them none too gently which his steel-toed boot. “I believe they will be unconscious for quite some time.”

Peter twisted in Juno’s grip, attempting to turn back towards Diamond but Juno gets a better grip on his shoulder, forcing him to face him.

“Peter.” His voice is low, low enough that event the comms won’t pick it up, barely a whisper and a movement of lips, but Peter froze before softening, the deadly gleam in his eye fading.

He moved his hand up slowly, waiting for permission from Juno. It takes what’s left of his fraying control not to flinch away from this man who he knows would never hurt him. He noded and Peter closed the distance. His hand was warm and dry and gentle against his cheek, his thumb catching on the cut on his lip. Anger flashed across his face again but he didn’t move away or look in Diamonds’ direction.

“I’m sorry love. I fear I rather lost my composure.”

Juno shook his head minutely, leaning into the warmth of his touch. “Forget it. Let’s just get the hell out of here, yeah?”

Buddy stepped up beside them. “An excellent idea darling. Jet?”

Jet glanced over from where he roughly shoved Diamond’s unconscious form into a supply closet. “Yes, I believe that would be prudent.” After a moment's consideration, he engaged the lock and the four of them moved to the elevator.

They are halfway down before Juno realises. Jet stands behind them, a solid, immovable object. Buddy is to his left and Peter on his blind side, fingers curled loosely around his wrist and he feels safe.

There will be a fallout from this, he knows. When he’s back on the ship, when it’s quiet and dark the old familiar fear will start thrumming through his veins, threatening to pull him under. And he will deal with that when it comes.

But now? Right now, he is surrounded by his friends and he feels safe.

He moves his hand, threading his fingers through Peter's as the doors slide open and the four of them step out into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> To skip the domestic violence stop at "You're a damn liar" and you can pick it back up at "They were cut off by a blur of movement..." but please note that pretty much the entire latter half of the work has the threat of violence from one character or another. 
> 
> I haven't posted anything in nearly 10 years but this stupid podcast wouldn't get out of my head. 
> 
> I have no idea if this is any good. It isn't clever or nuanced and it doesn't have nearly enough Rita, but it's what I wrote and I hope you enjoy it.


End file.
